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Cora Toland
Cora Toland '''is the Lady of Ghost Hill and Seneschal of Sunspear. The eldest child of Nymella Toland and her husband, Elan Wells, Cora was raised in Sunspear following the Dornish Rebellions in 356 AC, and subsequently came into friendship and companionship with House Martell, eventually leading into the Second War of Reclamation, where, following the war, she was named Seneschal of Sunspear. Appearance and Character Clasically Rhoynar, Cora does not lack for the beauty of her predecessors, with dark olive skin and thick black hair knotted with curls. She is not tall, though she is soft-spoken, her voice carrying a deep rich accent. Her lips are full and pink, and her eyes the color of dark amber. History Five Generations Unbroken House Toland of Ghost Hill is a House of Women, it is said, and for almost one-hundred years now the House has been ruled by five generations unbroken of that sex, affirmed only with the birth of Cora Toland in 348 AC, the first of five children, and the first of four sisters. Nymella Toland, who was heir to Ghost Hill at the time, would go on to produce her mother more grandchildren in the following years: Silva in 350, Irene in 353, Trebor in 355, and Erena Sand in 358. Though each child has their own story, we will be focusing mainly upon Cora, whose dark skin was said to resemble the deep olive of her fathers, though that was not all in which she took after him. Her temperament was legendary compared to Silva, born only two years after her. She was prone to frequent outbursts as a child, and when punished for her misbehavior, it was said to only make it worse - and so it was. At the age of six, Cora was brought to the Water Gardens. Her mother had hoped to foster her with other noble children of similar age to break that curse which seemed to have been placed on her daughter, and for the most part, it worked. In the presence of higher nobility, Cora grew softer, more amiable, and would oft be seen laughing and playing with the other children, though such happiness was not like to last long. The Dornish Rebellions No one denies the involvement of House Toland in that treacherous bloodletting following the dismissal of several important Dornishmen from the Small Council. House Gargalen, chiefly among the Houses whose banners were raised in the following months, had been involved with House Toland for some time. Elyse, ‘the Spider,’ as she had become known, for her dangerous attitude and frequent outbursts, had married a man of that noble house many years earlier. The Maester at Ghost Hill reported to the Citadel thus: Luceon Gargalen, the man to whom she was wed, put Elyse under duress and forced her to raise her banners for support of the cause. Despite her granddaughter being present in Sunspear and the Water Gardens, the blades of House Toland would rise in rebellion all the same. Indeed, over the following moons it would not be the Lady Elyse who led the armies of House Toland into battle. Elyse exhibited frequent symptoms of poisoning, and would oft be bed-ridden for weeks. Lady Nymella, Elyse’s young heir, sought a correspondence with Sunspear during such time, and communicated their family’s plight. It is uncertain what was said in these letters, but is it not unlikely that Nymella begged for mercy, claiming that her mother had no hand in these ordeals. As for Cora herself, what else can be said but that she was placed in the Spear Tower with the Martell triplets, a hostage in all but name? Her and Arianne, second of the three sisters, would oft be seen bickering with each other; shouting matches would erupt only to be calmed moments later. Insults were exchanged, and much and more changed in the following moons. When the Lords of House Jordayne and Santagar pressed in on the castle, it was said that Nymella sought to immediately surrender, but was forced into her chambers by her own men, under the command Ser Luceon. With the defeat of House Toland upon the horizon, Elan Wells - Nymella’s beloved and a faithful servant of Hosue Martell, took it upon himself to avenge the terrible disaster wrought upon the family at Ghost Hill. Having ridden with Luceon for the majority of the war, it was said that after their last shattered retreat, Elan demanded a duel of Luceon… only to be cut down by his own spears. The murder would go unavenged as Ghost Hill surrendered to her besieging armies not a week later. Ser Luceon’s men presented him to Lord Santagar following their retreat, and it was there that he surrendered. The ‘Lord of Ghost Hill,’ as he would come to be called in the following years, had been defeat. Tried and charged, Ser Luceon was sent to the wall. The fate of Lady Elyse proved much more damning, however. The Lady of Ghost Hill, it was said, died in her sleep on the third moon of that accursed year 357, after struggling for several months to even get out of bed. Her death was excruciatingly painful, and Nymella blamed House Gargalen chiefly for her death, and immediately began repairing relations with House Martell as she could. Following the war it was agreed that Cora would remain in Sunspear, as a ward and lady, whilst Nymella’s first and only son, would be warded in Yronwood. Though only two at the time, he would travel to Yronwood in 361 AC, at the age of six, accompanied by his sister, Silva. Post-War Her mother’s ambitions to see House Toland’s relations with their liege reconciled bore fruit over the following years. Nymella would oft visit the Water Gardens, and though wracked with grief, would oft be seen speaking with the aging princess. Despite this, Cora’s ambitions were her own, and her and a certain Arianne Martell came into close companionship. The details of the relationship extend only as far as was made publically visible. Though enmities had grown between the two during the rebellion, such was smoothed over following it. Even still, their relationship was volatile; they’d shout and scream, and sometimes had to be parted from one another. Cora would tease her for her Lyseni-lacking looks, and Arianne would retort with something just as cruel, only to the next day be seen hugging and laughing with one another. One thing remains certain, however. Arianne and her companionship bloomed, and in the years that followed they would not leave each other’s side. By the year 361 AC, Cora was a woman grown, or so she claimed. She had grown into a fervored youth, tempered with the hot blood of the salty Dornish peoples. She learned at an astonishing pace, picking up trivial skills like fishing and penmanship. She had a particular penchant for bartering for minor things, and would sometimes drink in the shadow city, finding herself particularly fond of certain Essosi drinks that sent the blood running and adrenaline fueling. There, she would return to Arianne… though the details of what happened behind closed doors yet remains a mystery. It must be said, however, that in her youth, Cora was fond of neither man nor marriage, never so much as entertaining the notion. Though her mother had entertained many young suitors for her daughter, Cora would send them away as soon as she saw them. Once, she wrote in correspondence to Arianne in Sunspear that she, ‘found men disgusting,’ and that she, ‘could not tolerate their advances as much as I could any snake in the grass.’ Such trepidations were doubled for any Essosi envoy or man from north of Dorne. Even when sick, she would not let a Maester work upon her, preferring instead her handmaids to aid her. The Year 366 And What Followed When Nymeria Martell passed from this mortal coil in the year 366 AC, Sunspear and her court shifted with it. Though Nymeria had ultimately subjected House Toland to shifts of it’s own, friendship had been born of the Dornish rebellions ten years earlier, and Nymella joined her daughter for the funeral at Sunspear. It was the first time Nymella had seen her daughter in almost three years. Following Nymeria’s death, Cora departed Sunspear for a short time, travelling first to Hellholt, to see her aunt Silvianna, and then to Yronwood, where she was greeted by her sister Silva and her young brother, Trebor, both of whom she had not seen since youth. Though warm to her younger sister, she was decidedly cold to her younger brother, who had taken to a young girl from Yronwood named Gwyneth. There she traveled to Skyreach with Silva, though their stay would not last long. Cora returned to Sunspear late in the year and took up position as a chief clerk in Alysanne’s court, a position that would eventually bloom into much and more. Cora was among many things bold, it need be said. Never shy to voice her opinion, her voice was loud and sonorous in Sunspear’s court, gaining her as many enemies as friends. Despite this, Cora was always amenable with her good princess, and though the two could not have been said to be close, there had grown a mutual appreciation between the two - what else could there have been but for two women raised together for years at end? The years that followed came and went, but they were slow in going. The Seven teach patience, but she was hardly a patient woman. Once, in 377, Arianne and Cora quarreled, though it is not known for what, and the Heir to Ghost Hill returned home only to find herself back to Sunspear a year later. Ghost Hill had grown boring, and she longed for her friend who she had given up on so easily. It was not a triumphant return, however, for not two years later, the Second War of Reclamation began. The Second War of Reclamation The embers of the wars in the North had not yet died when Alysanne Martell called upon the spears of Dorne. For the first time in Cora’s life she was presented an opportunity to distinguish herself - and distinguish herself she would. Riding home to Ghost Hill, she greeted her aging mother and gathered the spears, joining her Princess in the Prince’s Pass before riding off to war. Joining her Silva and Trebor, her wayward siblings from Yronwood. Silva, who had come to grace in the bow, and Trebot the spear, both eager for a fight. Joining Lord Tyrell in a massive host, Cora was at her Princess’s side for the duration of the war, providing counsel when desired, and companionship when not. Cora did not like it beyond the sands of Dorne, it need be said. ‘The men are too pale,’ she would oft say, and the ‘grass too green.’ She did as her Princess bid, however, no one denies her that; she was ever at her side, even as the armies clashed hard at the Blue Fork, and the Tolands were tossed into the heat of battle. Atop her illustrious Sand Steed, Nightfury, Cora was able to escape the carnage, but her sister and brother were not so lucky. Silva lost a finger in the fighting, and Trebor nearly had an eye out, joining a small force to relieve the Princess that had been placed under duress from the advancing armies. With the Dornish armies forced into retreat, the banners of House Toland rallied once again to their Princess and joined her in the taking of Darry. Unlike the Blue Fork, Cora rode head-first into battle, and though hardly skilled with a blade or bow or spear, she was nothing if not nimble. In the council that preceded the Battle at Lord Harroway’s Town, Cora was in agreeance with her Princess for her plans, and when the king’s famous jape followed, she had to excuse herself for the black ire that consumed her wholly. It was then, that, in private, Cora would advocate to to not only remove the King’s genitals, but remove him as a whole, either by scorpion or spear to the gut. Whatsoever happened, Cora’s desires blackened, and her heart hardened against his grace the king. As the war came to an end, the forces of the Iron Throne emerging victorious, a bloody and limping Dornish host followed the Princess back home. Once safe in the sands of Dorne, Cora would speak to the Princess in private, advocating not only for the king’s death, but Dornish independence - something that Cora had taken a liking to following the king’s jests. Either way, when they returned to Sunspear, news came from Ghost Hill heralding a passing in the family… Lady of Ghost Hill It was not to some sense of normalcy that House Toland returned to following the war. The bloodshed of prior had turned now to illness, as the stranger came once again to take away Cora’s mother, the Lady Nymella. She was forty-three years of age. The Maester at Ghost Hill prescribed her death to a sudden chill, but when Cora returned she would have none of it. Not only had word not been sent to her, but Cora had grown angry, and when she learned that her mother had died without her, she had the Maester tossed off a cliff and begged the Citadel to return her a man of Dornish heritage, one she could trust. The following moons proved worse, as Cora was forced to separate from her long-time friend and companion Arianne. The marriage to Theodan Baratheon would be a grand one, but Cora would not attend. Instead, Cora spent a fortnight in the Water Gardens before her departure. It was the second time in two moons that Cora Toland wept. That dreadful year came to an end when Silva Toland returned to Ghost Hill to take up her sister’s job, serving as Castellan and de-facto ruler of the House whilst Cora remained in Sunspear, joining the Princess not as a clerk… but Seneschal, as the Princess decreed: her service during the war was to be commended, and she saw no better way to reward her than with the highest office Sunspear could give. And so stood the House of Toland in the year 373 AC, with Trebor Yronwood remaining in Yronwood, Sylva in Ghost Hill, young Erena serving Alysanne Yronwood, and Lady Toland herself as Seneschal of Sunspear. Such would not change for the following two years, but in such time Sylva saw a marriage done. Her young sister, Irene, was wed to Bors Santagar early in 374 AC. Recent History 375 AC ... Timeline * 347 AC - Cora Toland is born, * 350 AC - Younger sister, Silva Toland, is born, * 353 AC - Younger sister, Irene Toland is born, * 353 AC - Younger brother, Trebor Toland is born * 356 AC - The Dornish Rebellions take place. House Toland sides against House Martell. Elyse Toland, Lady of Ghost Hill, dies because of it, and her husband is sent to the Wall. Cora is in Sunspear at the time, and is held in the tower with the Martell triplets, * 358 AC - Younger sister, Erena Sand is born, * 361 AC - After an agreement made following the war, Trebor travels to Yronwood with his sister, Silva, as a ward. Cora remains at Sunspear, * 370 AC - House Toland follows House Martell into the Second War of Reclamation, * 373 AC - Cora Toland is named Seneschal of Sunspear Family * Elyse Toland, b. 312, d. 356 AC, * m. Luceon Gargalen, ** Nymella Toland, (d. 373 AC) ** m. Elan Wells, (d. 356 AC) *** '''Cora Toland, b. 348 AC, *** Silva Toland, b. 350 AC - Archetype: Warrior | Archery Proficiency *** Irene Toland, b. 353 AC, - Archetype: Wanderer *** Trebor Toland, b. 355 AC, - Archetype: Warrior | Polearms Proficiency ** w. Anders Blackmont *** Erena Sand, b. 358 AC - Archetype: Negotiator ** Silvianna Toland, b. 333 AC, - Archetype: Medic ** m. Parmen Uller *** House Uller Category:House Toland Category:Dornish